May 31 2008 - 8:30pm

May 31 2008 8:30 pm
REDCAT

REDCAT: Outfitted with a fantastic array of Harry Partch's custom-built microtonal instruments, the ensemble directed by John Schneider performs the composer's complete score of Plectra and Percussion Dances: Satyr-Play Music for Dance Theater -- played live for the first time since the work's premiere was broadcast on radio in 1953. The hourlong triptych comprises "Castor and Pollux -- A Dance for the Twin Rhythms of Gemini," "Ring Around the Moon -- A Dance Fantasm for Here and Now," and "Even Wild Horses -- A Dance for an Absent Drama," with the final segment featuring African and Latin American polyrhythms and settings of Rimbaud's A Season in Hell, sung in French with supertitles. The performance also includes Partch's own introduction to the piece, as heard on Pacifica radio in 1953.

See http://redcat.org/season/0708/mus/partch.php ($)

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